Method and system for conducting an auction over a network

ABSTRACT

A method and system for enabling a user or bidder to purchase an option on auction merchandise or services in an online auction are provided, thus allowing the option winner to purchase the merchandise in the event the original auction bidder (i.e., the highest bidder for the merchandise) defaults on his purchase. The method and system also provides an incentive to the users purchasing the option(s), e.g., bid optionees, by partially distributing the option pool of monies collected to the user who purchases the option at the price closest to the final auction price.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic commerce andonline auction systems, and more particularly, to a method and systemfor allowing a user or participant in an online auction to take pricingoptions during the auction and for incentiving holders of the options.

2. Description of the Related Art

Online Internet auctions are now a major component of Internet commerce.Companies such as eBay Inc. of San Jose, Calif., uBid Inc. of Chicago,Ill., and Yahoo! Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. conduct billions of dollarsworth of online auctions on an annual basis. Merchandise and services ofall sorts are regularly bought and sold through these and other auctionweb sites.

Generally, a seller of goods or services registers with one of theaforementioned web sites to create a user account. The seller thencreates a listing for the item the user desires to sell. Typically, thelisting will include a description of the item and one or severalpictures of the item. The seller will then set a minimum starting bidprice and optionally a reserve bid price, i.e., a secret minimum pricethe seller is willing to accept for the item. Finally, the seller willset a time period for which the auction will run, e.g., 7 days. Duringthe time period of the auction, potential buyers or bidders will placebids on the listed item. After the auction time period has expired, thehighest bidder will be awarded the item and will purchase the item fromthe seller, preferably, through an e-commerce transactions employingseveral available methods including PayPal™.

One of the challenges of the online auction communities is to make surethat the merchandise sold to the highest bidder actually gets paid forby the highest bidder. In many cases involving hundreds of millions ofdollars each year, the highest bidder in an online auction will defaultand not pay for or take delivery of the merchandise/services he has bidon. A default on a winning auction bid means that the seller of themerchandise will not receive the money that he expected for themerchandise, and in many cases, must re-auction the goods or services.

SUMMARY

A method and system for enabling a user or bidder to purchase an optionon auction merchandise or services in an online auction are provided,thus allowing the option winner to purchase the merchandise in the eventthe original auction bidder (i.e., the highest bidder for themerchandise) defaults on his purchase. The method and system alsoprovides an incentive to the users purchasing the option(s), e.g., bidoptionees, by partially distributing the option pool of monies collectedto the user who purchases the option at the price closest to the finalauction price.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method forauctioning at least one item over a network is provided, the methodincluding the steps providing a web site for presenting the at least oneitem for auction hosted by at least one server in communication with thenetwork; receiving a purchase bid amount by the web site from at leastone bidder; receiving at least one option bid amount by the web site byat least one bid optionee; awarding the at least one item to the highestat least one bidder; and distributing a first predetermined percentageamount of a total received at least one option bid amount to the atleast one bid optionee upon completing a purchase transaction with thehighest at least one bidder. The method further includes distributing asecond predetermined percentage amount of the total received at leastone option bid amount to the web site and distributing a thirdpredetermined percentage amount of the total received at least oneoption bid amount to a predetermined number of subsequent bid optionees.

In another aspect, the method includes contacting a seller of the atleast one item and confirming the purchase transaction is completed,wherein upon confirming the purchase transaction was not completed,presenting the highest at least one bid optionee to the seller forcompleting the purchase transaction.

In a further aspect, a cost of the at least one option bid amount isbased on a percentage of a current purchase bid amount or based on apredetermined time range of the auction time period.

In yet another aspect, the first and third predetermined percentages arebased on the purchase bid amount of the highest bidder or on a time theat least one option bid amount was placed during the auction timeperiod.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forauctioning at least one item over a network includes the steps providinga first web site for presenting the at least one item for auction hostedby at least one first server in communication with the network;receiving a purchase bid amount by the first web site from at least onebidder; providing a second web site for monitoring the at least one itemfor auction hosted by at least one second server in communication withthe network; receiving at least one option bid amount by the second website by at least one bid optionee; awarding the at least one item to thehighest at least one bidder; and distributing by the second web site afirst predetermined percentage amount of a total received at least oneoption bid amount to the at least one bid optionee upon completing apurchase transaction with the highest at least one bidder at the firstweb site.

In a further aspect, an apparatus for auctioning at least one item overa network is provided including means for providing a web site forpresenting the at least one item for auction hosted by at least oneserver in communication with the network; means for receiving a purchasebid amount by the web site from at least one bidder; means for receivingat least one option bid amount by the web site by at least one bidoptionee; means for awarding the at least one item to the highest atleast one bidder; and means for distributing a first predeterminedpercentage amount of a total received at least one option bid amount tothe at least one bid optionee upon completing a purchase transactionwith the highest at least one bidder.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a system for auctioningat least one item over a network is provided. The system includes atleast one first server in communication with the network configured forproviding a first web site for presenting the at least one item forauction; at least one first client in communication with the networkconfigured for transmitting a purchase bid amount to the first web sitefrom at least one bidder; at least one second server in communicationwith the network configured for providing a second web site formonitoring the at least one item for auction; at least one second clientin communication with the network configured for transmitting at leastone option bid amount to the second web site by at least one bidoptionee; the at least one server further configured for awarding the atleast one item to the highest at least one bidder; and the at least onesecond server further configured for distributing by the second web sitea first predetermined percentage amount of a total received at least oneoption bid amount to the at least one bid optionee upon completing apurchase transaction with the highest at least one bidder at the firstweb site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become more apparent in light of the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method and system for conducting anauction over a network in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary server for use in the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for conducting an auctionover a network where users may purchase bid options on items for sale inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for distributing optionmonies collected when an auction transaction is completed with thehighest bidder; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for distributing optionmonies collected when an auction transaction is completed with thehighest bid optionee in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedhereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thefollowing description, well-known functions or constructions are notdescribed in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure inunnecessary detail.

A method and system are provided to allow users, e.g., bid optionees, ofonline auctions to take options on auction items, e.g., goods andservices, for the purpose of alternatively completing the auction salein the event that the winning or highest bidder defaults on completingthe purchase transaction for the presented item. The method and systemof the present disclosure provide an incentive to the option holders forparticipating in the auction by allowing the option holder whose optionprice comes closest to the winning and final auction bid price to sharein monies collected for selling the options.

In utilizing the methods and systems of the present disclosure describedherein, a user will be able to accomplish the various applications ofthe disclosure which are described below in relation to FIG. 1, whichillustrates an overall flow diagram of the method and system 100 of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, an auction server 102 is provided for hosting anauction web site where sellers of items will post items for sale andpotential buyers will bid on the items for sale. All transactions to bedescribed will occur electronically, via a hardwired or wirelessconnection, over a network 104 of computers, e.g., the Internet. Each ofthe users of system 100, e.g., seller 106, bidder 108, bid optionee 110,will be coupled to the auction server 102 via a client application,e.g., an Internet browser, and will access the auction server 102 via aweb interface, e.g., an HTML constructed web page. The auction server102 includes a plurality of databases for storing user accountinformation 112 and for item information 114 relating to the itemspresented or posted for sale. In using the system 100, a seller 106 willcreate a user account including name, address, contact information,e-mail address, acceptable payment options, etc. which will be storedfor the seller in the user account database 112. Once the seller 106establishes a user account, the seller 106 may post items that theydesire to sell. When posting the item for sale, the seller 106 willprovide a description of the item, one or several pictures of the item,a minimum starting bid price, and a time period for the auction.Optionally, the seller 106 may set a reserve price for the item. Onceposted, potential buyers or bidders 108 may view the listing for theitem and place a bid on the item, e.g., an amount the bidders is willingto spend to purchase the item. After the auction time period hasexpired, the auction server 102 will determine the highest bidder andcontact the bidder to inform them that they are the highest bidder andprovide them with instruction on how to complete the purchasetransaction, preferably via an e-commerce method such as PayPal™.

The system 100 further includes an option server 116 hosting an optionweb site enabling bid optionees 110 to place option bids, i.e., whatoption price the user is willing to pay, on the items posted for sale onthe auction website. The option server 116 will include a plurality ofdatabases for storing user account information 118 and item optioninformation 120. A bid optionee 110 will register with the option server116 to be able to place option bids on items posted. The bid optionee110 will provide such information as name, address, contact informationincluding e-mail address, IM name, etc., preferred payment options whichwill be stored in the user account database 118. The option server 116will store information related to each item being bid on in the itemsfile database 120. Each item file will include an amount each bidoptionee had bid, a total of the options purchased and various formulasor algorithms to determine a price of placing or purchasing the optionbid, among other data relevant to the item being auctioned. In oneembodiment, option server 116 will monitor the activity for a selectedauction from auction server 102 and post the activity on the same webpage where a bid optionee may place an option bid, using conventionalsoftware such as togo.ebay.com.

Although the auction server 102 and option server 116 are shown as twoseparate components, e.g., discrete hardware components, it is to beappreciated that the teachings of the present disclosure could beprogrammed to operate on a single server. It is to be understood thatthe present disclosure may be implemented in various forms of hardware,software, firmware, special purpose processors, or a combinationthereof. In one embodiment, the present disclosure may be implemented insoftware as an application program tangibly embodied on a programstorage device. The application program may be uploaded to, and executedby, a machine comprising any suitable architecture such as servers 102,116. Referring to FIG. 2, preferably, the machine 200 is implemented ona computer platform having hardware such as one or more centralprocessing units (CPU) 202, a random access memory (RAM) 204, a readonly memory (ROM) 206 and input/output (I/O) interface(s) such as akeyboard 208, cursor control device 210 (e.g., a mouse or joystick) anddisplay device 212. A system bus 215 couples the various components andmay be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus ormemory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. The computer platform also includes anoperating system and micro instruction code. The various processes andfunctions described herein may either be part of the micro instructioncode or part of the application program (or a combination thereof whichis executed via the operating system.

In addition, various other peripheral devices may be connected to thecomputer platform by various interfaces and bus structures, such as aparallel port, firewire (IEEE 1394) serial port or universal serial bus(USB). One such peripheral device may include a communications device216, e.g., a modem, network interface card (NIC), satellite relay,wireless connection, etc., for enabling communications from the servers102, 116 to various clients, e.g., seller 106, bidders 108 and bidoptionees 110. Other peripheral devices may include additional storagedevices 214 and a printer.

It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituentsystem components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figuresmay be implemented in software, the actual connections between thesystem components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon themanner in which the present disclosure is programmed. Given theteachings of the present disclosure provided herein, one of ordinaryskill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similarimplementations or configurations of the present disclosure.

The servers 102, 116 may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote computers. The remotecomputer(s) may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a networkPC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includesmany or all of the elements described above relative to the servers 102,116. It is to be appreciated that the network may be a local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet or any knownnetwork that couples a plurality of computers to enable various modes ofcommunication via network messages. Furthermore, the servers 102, 116will communicate using the various known protocols such as TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), File Transfer Protocol(FTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc. and secure protocolssuch as Internet Protocol Security Protocol (IPSec), Point-to-PointTunneling Protocol (PPTP), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Protocol, etc.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the method and system of the presentdisclosure will now be described.

Initially, a user, e.g., a bid optionee 110, wishes to participate in anonline auction process with the objective of securing an option onauction merchandise/services. This option will allow the user topurchase the goods (or services) in the event that the winner of theauction, e.g., a highest bidder 108, defaults on his bid. The bidoptionee 110 registers at the option website 116 provided for his use oralternatively his account information is already on file in the useraccounts database 118 residing on server 116. The bid optionee 110 willbe able to follow the auction progress either from this website whichwill have the auction information posted on the auction that the userselects using software such as togo.ebay.com, or alternatively from thedirect auction site, e.g. Ubid.com, Ebay.com, etc.

At step 302, an item, e.g., goods or services, will be presented forauction on the web site hosted by the auction server 102 as describedabove. Next, the auction will commence for a predetermined period oftime (step 304). As described above, the auction period of time may beselected by the seller 106 or may be a default period of time determinedby the auction server 102. Once the auction begins, potential buyers orbidders 108 may place bids via the website hosted by the auction server102 for the item up for sale. As with conventional online auctions,there is no charge to place a bid on an item and a bidder may placeseveral bids throughout the auction without being charged for placingthe bids. Upon completion of the auction, the bidder that placed thehighest bid is expected to complete a purchase transaction with theseller.

While the auction is open or the predetermined period of time has notexpired, the bid optionee 110 may place or purchase at least one optionbid (step 306). The bid optionee 110 will now commit an option bid tothe online web site 116 that represents the user's or bid optionee'sestimate of what the goods or services will sell for (or what optionprice the user is willing to pay). By example, if the auction is for aRolex™ watch and the current bid price is $700 but the bid optionee 110recognizes the value of the watch at $1400 and believes that the winningbid for the watch will be $1350 (or that the user is willing to pay$1350) then the user will place an option bid of $1350. This bid will beprivate between the bid optionee and the web site database that willcontain this bid, e.g., item file database 120. The bid optionee 100will now pay for the option by a standard e-commerce transactionallowing the subject web site 116 to debit his credit card or by usingother payment means including Paypal, or electronic debit of a bankaccount, or by electronic checks, or wire transfers, etc. In oneembodiment, the price that the bid optionee 110 pays for the option willbe a defined percentage of the option price that the user is submitting.By example in the case of the watch auction where the user option bids$1350, the bid optionee 110 will pay 1% of this option bid price or atotal of $13.50.

During the auction, other bid optionees 110 will also participate andoption bid on the watch. After each person bids, the subject web site116 will indicate how much in total option bids have been collected orreceived. This option bid total may be represented in numeric or textform and also in graphical form. In the above example, assuming 42option bids were submitted from $300 to $2000 for themerchandise/services, then a total of $980.00 will have been collectedby the subject web site in total option fees.

The option web site 116 will continue to monitor the bids placed bybidders 108 (step 308) and collect option bids by bid optionees 110until the auction period of time has expired (step 310). After theauction has been closed, the auction server 102 will determine thehighest bidder 108 and will attempt to complete the purchase transactionbetween the seller 106 and bidder or buyer 108 (step 312). After apredetermined period of time, the option web site 116 willelectronically contact the person (i.e., the seller 106) who auctionedthe goods and ask them to confirm that the transaction was completed andthe merchandise/services were paid for (step 314). This contact may bein the form of IM (instant messaging), e-mail, terrestrial mail, or anyother form of communication that now exists or will exist in the future.If the transaction completed (step 316), then no further action will betaken in regards to the item up for auction and the method will proceedto FIG. 4 as will be described below. If, however, the transaction didnot complete for whatever reason, then the option web site 116 willoffer to replace the winning bid with the option bid that was placed, aswill be described below in relation to FIG. 5. In this case, the optionweb site 116 will then notify the bid optionee to see if he/she isprepared to go forward and purchase the merchandise/services.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method is illustrated for the event that (A) thebid optionee cannot purchase the merchandise/services because theauction transaction was completed with the highest bidder (step 402).The option web site 116 will determine a total of option bids received(step 404) or retrieve this information from the item file database 120.In this case, the bid optionee 110 will receive a first X % percentageof the total option monies taken in or received to compensate him forthe inability to buy the item, i.e., the merchandise/services (step406). In the above watch auction example, where $980.00 was taken in,the bid optionee 110 would have received 50% of the total option feescollected or $490.00. Next, a second predetermined percentage of thetotal option bids received will be distributed to the option website(step 408). In this case, the additional option monies will bedistributed so that 20% of the total ($196.00) will go to the website asits fee for acting on all parties behalf, and an additional 30%, of themonies ($294), or a third percentage of total option bids received, willbe distributed equally to the next 10 bid optionees that came closest toselecting the final auction price (so that each one would receive$29.40) (step 410). Advantageously, the percentages for the distributioncan be varied in any manner that the option web site 116 sees fit andthis variance can occur in a static or dynamic fashion, e.g., based on aformula or external variables. For example, the percentages could be setby marketing formulas which provide an inducement (with a highpercentage) to option the item. The percentages could also be determinedby the type of merchandise being auctioned or even by the bid optioneeidentity. In the latter example, a frequent bid optionee would berewarded by receiving a higher percentage then a first time orinfrequent bid optionee.

Referring to FIG. 5, a method is illustrated for the event that (B) thebid optionee can purchase the merchandise/services because the auctiontransaction did not complete, as was verified by the option website 116.At step 502, the option server 116 will notify the highest bid optioneeof the bidder default and that the item is available for the option bidamount. Next, the bid optionee 110 will complete the purchasetransaction with the seller 106 (step 504). The option web site 116 willthen determine a total of option bids received (step 506) or retrievethis information from the item file database 120. The monies received orcollected from the option bids will then be distributed similar to thatdescribed above in relation FIG. 4. In one embodiment, the bid optioneewill receive a lower percentage of the option fees or, alternatively, nopercentage of the option monies since he will then be able to purchasethe merchandise/services. If the highest bid optionee does not receive adistribution, the next highest bid optionee will receive the firstpredetermined percentage of the total option bids received (step 508).The balance of the option monies would be distributed by a secondpredetermined percentage to the website as its fee (step 510), andadditionally to the other optionees that came closest to selecting thefinal auction price (step 512), e.g., a third percentage would beequally distributed to a predetermined number of subsequent bidoptionees.

It is to be appreciated that many of the option bidders will want toplace their option bid late in the auction process so that they can moreclearly anticipate what the final price of the auction merchandise orservices will be. Therefore, in a further embodiment, the option website 116 will adjust the price of the option bid depending on the timeleft in the auction. In a preferred embodiment of this disclosure, thebid option web site 116 will use a formula to determine how much time isleft in the subject auction, and the current bid price of the goods orservices. Based on that information the bid option web site 116 willcalculate the price of the bid option. For example, if a bid optioneewanted to place a bid option on a watch at the first hour of a 25 hourauction then the price of the option could be 1% of the auction price.In this case if the auction bid was $500 then the option price would be$5.00. In the event if the bid optionee wants to option again in the23^(rd) hour then the price of the option could be 4% of the auctionprice or, in this case, if the auction price is $1000 then the price ofthe option would be $40.00. Furthermore, if the bid optionee wants tooption bid in the last hour of the auction then the option price couldbe 8% of the auction price or, in the case of an auction price of $2000,it would cost the bid optionee $160.00 for the option bid. Of course thepercentages used would be dynamic and set by the option web site 116using algorithms to determine the settings.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the bid option website 116 may distribute the option money to the option winners (i.e.,those persons that come closest to selecting the final auction price)based on the cost of the option and/or the time in the auction that theoption bid was placed. Therefore, if the bid optionee 110 placed hisoption bid in the first hour of the auction, he would receive less ofthe distribution of the total amount of the option money collected thenif he submitted his option bid in the last hour of the auction (and paidmore of a percentage for the option bid). Similarly, if the bid optioneepaid more for the option, he would receive more of a percentage of thetotal option monies collected. The percentages could be a combination offactors that can be algorithmically set by the processor of the optionserver 116 hosting the web site. Factors could include bid optioneeidentity, type of merchandise, seasonality, price scaling (if higherprice range more or less could be paid), etc.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference tocertain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure asdefined by the appended claims.

1. A method for auctioning at least one item over a network, the methodcomprising the steps: providing a web site for presenting the at leastone item for auction hosted by at least one server in communication withthe network; receiving a purchase bid by the web site from each of atleast one bidder; receiving one option bid by the web site from each ofat least one bid optionee and a payment from each of the at least onebid optionee for placing the respective option bid; awarding, using aprocessor, the at least one item to the bidder who places the highestpurchase bid; and upon completing a purchase transaction with thehighest bid bidder having the highest purchase bid, distributing to thebid optionee who places the highest option bid a first predeterminedpercentage amount of a total of the payments received.
 2. The method asin claim 1, further comprising distributing a second predeterminedpercentage amount of the total received payments to the web site.
 3. Themethod as in claim 2, further comprising distributing a thirdpredetermined percentage amount of the total received payments to apredetermined number of bid optionees who place the next highest optionbids.
 4. The method as in claim 1, further comprising awarding the atleast one item to the highest bidder having the highest option bid uponthe highest purchase bid bidder defaulting.
 5. The method as in claim 1,further comprising contacting by the web site a seller of the at leastone item and confirming if the purchase transaction is completed.
 6. Themethod as in claim 5, further comprising, upon confirming that thepurchase transaction was not completed, presenting the bid bidder havingthe highest option bid to the seller for completing the purchasetransaction.
 7. The method as in claim 1, where the payment receivedfrom each of the at least one bid optionee is based at least on apercentage of a current purchase bid amount.
 8. The method as in claim1, where the payment received from each of the at least one bid optioneeis based at least on the time remaining before the end of an auctiontime period.
 9. The method as in claim 1, further comprising presentingto the at least one bid optionee the total of the payment received fromeach of the at least one bid optionee.
 10. The method as in claim 9,wherein the total amount is presented in numerical, textual, orgraphical form.
 11. The method as in claim 3, further comprisingdetermining the first and third predetermined percentages based at leaston the purchase bid of the bidder having the highest purchase bid. 12.The method as in claim 3, further comprising determining the first andthird predetermined percentages based at least on a time when the atleast one option bid was placed during an auction time period.
 13. Themethod as in claim 3, further comprising dynamically determining thefirst and third predetermined percentages based at least on externalvariables.
 14. The method as in claim 13, wherein the external variablesinclude bid optionee identity, type of item being auctioned andseasonality.
 15. The method as in claim 1, wherein an option bid placedby a first bid optionee is kept private from at least one second bidoptionee.
 16. A method for auctioning at least one item over a network,the method comprising the steps: providing a first web site forpresenting the at least one item for auction hosted by at least onefirst server in communication with the network; receiving a purchase bidby the first web site from each of at least one bidder; providing asecond web site for monitoring the at least one item for auction hostedby at least one second server in communication with the network;receiving an option bid by the second web site from each of at least onebid optionee and a payment from each of the at least one bid optioneefor placing the respective option bid; awarding, using a processor, theat least one item to the bidder who places the highest purchase bid; andupon completing a purchase transaction with the highest bid bidderhaving the highest purchase bid at the first web site, distributing bythe second web site a first predetermined percentage amount of a totalof the payments received to the bid optionee who places the highestoption bid.
 17. The method as in claim 16, further comprising retaininga second predetermined percentage amount of the total of the paymentsreceived by the second web site.
 18. The method as in claim 17, furthercomprising distributing by the second web site a third predeterminedpercentage amount of the total of the payments received to apredetermined number of bid optionees who place the next highest optionbids.
 19. The method as in claim 16, further comprising awarding the atleast one item to the bidder having the highest option bid upon thehighest purchase bid bidder defaulting.
 20. The method as in claim 16,further comprising contacting by the second web site a seller of the atleast one item and confirming if the purchase transaction is completed.21. The method as in claim 20, further comprising, upon confirming thatthe purchase transaction was not completed, presenting the bidder havingthe highest option bid to the seller for completing the purchasetransaction.
 22. The method as in claim 16, where the payment receivedfrom each of the at least one bid optionee is based in part on apercentage of a current purchase bid amount.
 23. The method as in claim16, where the payment received from each of the at least one bidoptionee is based in part on the time remaining before the end of anauction time period.
 24. The method as in claim 16, further comprisingpresenting to the at least one bid optionee the total of the paymentsreceived from each of the at least on bid optionee at the second website.
 25. The method as in claim 24, wherein the total amount ispresented in numerical, textual, or graphical form.
 26. The method as inclaim 18, further comprising determining the first and thirdpredetermined percentages based at least on the purchase bid of thebid-bidder having the highest purchase bid.
 27. The method as in claim18, further comprising determining the first and third predeterminedpercentages based at least on a time when the at least one option bidwas placed during an auction time period.
 28. The method as in claim 18,further comprising dynamically determining the first and thirdpredetermined percentages based at least on external variables.
 29. Themethod as in claim 28, wherein the external variables include bidoptionee identity, type of item being auctioned and seasonality.
 30. Themethod as in claim 16, wherein the an option bid placed by a first bidoptionee is kept private from at least one second bid optionee.
 31. Themethod as in claim 16, further comprising presenting at the second website a web page for entry of the at least one option bid, the web pageincluding a current purchase bid of the at least one item for auction.32. An apparatus for auctioning at least one item over a networkcomprising: a memory; and, a processor configured to: provide a web sitefor presenting the at least one item for auction hosted by at least oneserver in communication with the network; receive a purchase bid by theweb site from each of at least one bidder; receive an one option bid bythe web site from each of at least one bid optionee; receive a paymentfrom each of the at least one bid optionee for the opportunity to placethe respective option bid; award the at least one item to the bidder whoplaces the highest purchase bid; and distribute, upon completion of apurchase transaction with the highest purchase bid bidder having thehighest purchase bid, a first predetermined percentage amount of a totalof the payments received to the bid optionee who places the highestoption bid.
 33. A system for auctioning at least one item over a networkcomprising: at least one first server in communication with the networkconfigured to provide a first web site for presenting the at least oneitem for auction; at least one first client in communication with thenetwork configured to transmit at least one purchase bid to the firstweb site from at least one bidder; at least one second server incommunication with the network configured to provide a second web sitefor monitoring the at least one item for auction; at least one secondclient in communication with the network configured to transmit at leastone option bid to the second web site from at least one bid optionee andfurther configured to transmit at least one payment to the second website for the opportunity to place the at least one option bid; the atleast one first server further configured to award the at least one itemto the highest at least one bidder; and the at least one second serverfurther configured to distribute by the second web site a firstpredetermined percentage amount of a total of the at least one paymentto one or more of the at least one bid optionee upon completing, by thefirst website, a purchase transaction with the highest at least onebidder.
 34. The method as in claim 1, wherein the bidder having thehighest purchase bid is not the same as the highest option bid bidder.